So if Thigpen threw a TD instead of a pic and then came back to win it 31-30 then it would be umm BA's fault, right?

Refresh my memory. How did the Dolphins get the ball with a shot to win the game? Can't remember, but I seem to have visions of Joey Porter and that "tough hombre" fighting over a loose ball. Not the offenses' fault though. And then, of course, there was yet ANOTHER failed red zone possession that would have made it a two score game. Not the offenses' fault though. Good thing Ike "Pop Warner" Taylor got to bail out Sputterin' Bruce Arians.

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Had Thigpen thrown a TD with 40 seconds on the clock and no time outs well then of course it would have been the Offensive Coordinators fault. Because we didn't score more points! WOW!!!

We have, for years, refused to invest money or draft picks in the O-Line or Secondary, and the results speak for themselves. Maybe if Tomlin hadn't opened his mouth in the spring of '07, we'd have Revis instead of Timmons on the roster, but whatever. It's hard to win with shitty talent, no matter how good the coaching might be. Mendy ended up getting one of the most worthless milestones in all of sports, but in truth, the run game was effing spotty, and that's because the O-Line was spotty, and, oh yeah, we have no effing FB on the roster.

2. Situational football - we could move the ball between the 20s, we could shut teams down for three quarters, but when it came time to put points on the board in critical situations, we were putrid. We also gave up kick returns for TDs in one close game after another. We also had turnovers at exactly the wrong time and place (see, especially, the KC game). Ben took sacks at the wrong time, over and over again (removing us from FG range in close games). On and on.

All this speaks to me of a team that may, if anything, have too many egotistical veterans on it who aren't responding to coaching. Or to shitty coaching. Whatever it is, the team looked undisciplined and unprepared and uncoordinated all year long.

3. Injuries -

We weren't as banged up as most other teams, but we lost the two best players on a defense with no depth.

4. Coaching - I don't blame LeBeau at all. I just don't. His track record speaks for itself, and I just don't think that all of a sudden he couldn't figure out what to do. Fact is, when defending the pass, we were like every bad pass defense: for adequate coverage on any given play, we'd have to concede the pass rush, and to get an adequate rush on any given play, we'd have to concede the personnel dedicated to coverage. In the 4th quarter, our pass rush tended to disappear, which was critical.

On offense, I'm not as up in arms about Arians as some other people. I think Arians is a capable offensive coordinator, but he's too pass-happy and our red zone stuff absolutely sucked this year (in spite of the fact that we seem not to be lacking in talent that can score TDs in a variety of ways). We also showed no ability to adjust or tweak the game plan when things weren't working (or we wouldn't hammer home some facet of the offense that was really working, like if Mendy was just busting all over the place in the 1st quarter, we'd abandon him for the rest of the game). In a lot of ways, our offense looked like the Bengals in '04 - '06. Sure, the stats for individuals looked great at the end of the year, but the record was mediocre.

I blame Tomlin for our approach on offense. If Arians is calling a pass-heavy scheme, it's Tomlin who's approved it, and his public comments have repeatedly made clear that he sees the offense as one that should be built around Ben.

I'd be happy to see Arians replaced, but if he comes back and Tomlin orders a more balanced game plan, I'd be fine with that, too. My preference, though, would be for an experienced OC to come in, someone who can get along with Ben but also take command of the scheme and coach Ben into a more disciplined player.

Perhaps. But not nearly as asinine as your assertion that Ben is--how did you say it--"Dumb as shit?" Methinks that's a bit overstated.

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Roethlisberger is clearly a winner, but he doesn't do much - nay, anything - to minimize injury risk. You don't see those guys take many hits. You don't see those guys with headline-grabbing amounts of concussions.

I prefer that we don't have a quarterback who thinks about this. Throwing the ball away to avoid a loss of yardage? Yes. Settling for the check down rather than the bomb? Yes. Those are important to the team. But Ben's willingness to play with reckless abandon at times has resulted in FAR more positives than negatives. My point is that the rings on his finger and the trophies in the case are pretty strong evidence of that.

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Any objective Steelers fan will tell you that Roethlisberger makes many unwise decisions throughout the course of a season, which result in yardage losses and sometimes, his absense (sp?).

Again, Ben's shenanigans result in more positives than negatives. And what do you expect from a guy with a mediocre offensive line and a sorry OC? Ben causes many sacks, but there are still times when he's getting run at for the snap; and plenty of others where he works his way out of trouble to make a play.

Also, just how much time has Ben actually missed over the last six years that were the result of something he did? Very little. Even this year's consussion was more of a freak play.

And lastly, at this point in their respective careers, I'm sorry, but Peyton and Brees - from a mechanical and game management perspective - are head and shoulders above Roethlisberger, IMO.

Perhaps, but this is what I don't understand. You mention Brees, Manning and Rivers. None of whom has Ben's winning % in the playoffs. None of whom has as many rings. Hell, two of them have never even BEEN to the Super Bowl, and may not make it this year. They all have monumentally better offensive lines and equal/greater talent around them. Yet, you're complaining because Ben is not a good enough "game manager?" Thanks, but no thanks. I'll take the guy who can make things happen and gets the rings. Complaining about Ben, IMO, is kind of like winning the PowerBall and complaining about the taxes on your 80 million.

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I love Roethlisberger, but he could be a million times better with some minor adjustments between the ears and more humility.

Don't disagree with this at all, especially the part about Ben's humility. All QBs need to make adjustments throughout their careers if they want to keep winning. I've always been under the impression that Ben is kind of an arrogant ass, and losing some of that attitude might help the few flaws that he has in his game.

his arrogance and constant preening and dramatics are beginning to wear thin. All day yesterday Dierdorf called him "one tough hombre" but I don't see him as any tougher than #86, or #92, or #25, exempli grati. I get the feeling he would rather be Favre than Montana, and I don't mean that as a positive comparison, either.

Again, I would agree with this point. Ben is pretty tough, in a strange, prima dona-ish sort of way, but he tries way too hard to look the part. Just get up and go back to the huddle and wipe the friggin' pained expression off your face. And dude, get a haircut.

Off the subject a little, but I can't believe Dingledorf still has a job as an NFL broadcaster. He is an absolute moron. He spent whatever credibility he had left in 2001, when we were playing the Ravens in Pittsburgh, and he compared Krodel Seward to Joe Montana and John Elway. Yes, folks, he said it, and I heard it.

And lastly, at this point in their respective careers, I'm sorry, but Peyton and Brees - from a mechanical and game management perspective - are head and shoulders above Roethlisberger, IMO.

Perhaps, but this is what I don't understand. You mention Brees, Manning and Rivers. None of whom has Ben's winning % in the playoffs. None of whom has as many rings. Hell, two of them have never even BEEN to the Super Bowl, and may not make it this year. They all have monumentally better offensive lines and equal/greater talent around them. Yet, you're complaining because Ben is not a good enough "game manager?" Thanks, but no thanks. I'll take the guy who can make things happen and gets the rings. Complaining about Ben, IMO, is kind of like winning the PowerBall and complaining about the taxes on your 80 million.

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I love Roethlisberger, but he could be a million times better with some minor adjustments between the ears and more humility.

Don't disagree with this at all, especially the part about Ben's humility. All QBs need to make adjustments throughout their careers if they want to keep winning. I've always been under the impression that Ben is kind of an arrogant ass, and losing some of that attitude might help the few flaws that he has in his game.

My point in mentioning those three (and Brady, though, admittedly, I don't pay much attention to him) is that all of them get rid of the ball instead of taking a hit. It damn near looks like intentional grounding, but each has the presence of mind to realize he's out of the tackle box and throw the ball directly at the line of scrimmage.

Since the first couple of college games of Ben's that I watched, I knew he was a helluva player. However, and disappointingly, he has never given me the feeling that he's going to help the Steelers by making a smart play. After all of these years, I thought that part of his game would progress by this point, but unfortunately, it hasn't.

FWIW, I thought Ben was at his best - to some extent - his rookie and second season (granted, he had a solid running game to lean on). That's when he was passing approximately 15 - 21 times per game and making plays with his feet from time to time. That's when this team was much more balanced. With limited passing attempts, he seems to take greater advantage per opportunity. As he passes more, he seems to get more and more careless and takes on the "all or nothing" persona.

With such a shitty OL, I really do think Ben would serve the team well by using his feet more often. He's fleet of foot, strong and that would disallow pass rushers to essentially run downhill at will, as they so often do now.

And just to reiterate, I don't blame this season's woes on Ben one iota (well, in the Cincinnati game at Heinz it looked like he threw some egregiously errant passes...plus, I couldn't watch a few other games due to travel, so I don't know how he looked in those contests). And I do know how lucky we are to have him. I guess what I'm hoping for is the comfort that fans of those other guys probably have in regard to being assured that the respective guy is going to be QB'ing the team week in and week out and from year to year for many years, and they're going to remain pretty steady along the way. But then those fans would probably like our Super Bowl rings.